RT / Damascus will continue to battle terrorists until it regains full control of Syrian territory and re-establishes security, President Bashar Assad has said. His top adviser, has meanwhile branded all foreign troops present in Syria without authorization as “illegal invaders.” Trends Syria war , Syria-Turkey The war in Syria will continue until full “recovery of security and stability to all Syrian lands,” Assad said Tuesday after talks with Ali Akbar Velayati, the foreign policy adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Assad said the Syrian Arab Army (SAR) is engaging not only terrorists but also those who seek to “divide and weaken states.” The Syrian president was apparently referring to the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the American-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which are battling Damascus to control parts of Syria.

Read more Damascus demands ‘immediate & unconditional’ pullout of Turkish troops from northwest Syria Assad’s comments on Tuesday followed a statement made by Velayati on Friday, who said the Syrian Army will soon challenge the SDF for Raqqa which Damascus still considers to be under occupation. “We will witness in the near future the advance of government and popular forces in Syria and east of the Euphrates, and the liberation of Raqqa city,” Velayati said .

US and Turkish troops and advisers are “illegal invader” forces, Bouthaina Shaaban, Assad’s senior advisor told the Lebanon-based al-Mayadeen news. Shaaban underlined that Damascus would never allow the partition of Syria, advising Kurds, which form the backbone of the American led SDF, to embrace the national unity dialogue process.

“Everything is up to the Syrians and to discussions between Syrians, and there cannot be a discussion on the division or cutting up of a part of the country or on so-called federalism,” Shaaban said , according to Reuters. “I don’t think any government can discuss with any group when it comes to the topic of the country’s unity.”

As for the Turkish presence in the country, Assad’s advisor noted that the actions of the Turks in the north of Syria violate the Astana agreement. “Turkey today is a colonizer country, its forces on our soil are illegal, just as the American forces are on our soil illegally,” Shaaban said. “We will deal with this issue as we deal with any illegal invader force on our lands.”

Read more Major blunder: US commander unsure if it’s 4k or 500 troops in Syria In October, Ankara deployed its military to Syria’s Idlib province to monitor one of four de-escalations zones in the war-torn country. The proposal to establish de-escalation zones in Syria, championed by Russia, was finalized during the September round of the Syria peace talks in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, with Idlib becoming the fourth zone created under the deal. Amid the deployment of troops into Syria, Turkey made it clear that it would also take measures to secure its borders from the “Kurdish threat” by supporting the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA).

Turkey has long been anxious about the autonomous ambitions of the Kurds as Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) of the Democratic Union Party of Syria (PYD) with the help of American-led airstrikes, continue to capture vast territories in northern Syria. That area borders Kurdish-dominated southeastern Turkey, where Ankara continues to suppress the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

To achieve its objectives, the Turkish units set up observation posts along the border of Idlib and Afrin, which is part of the Aleppo Governorate and which also has a dominant Kurdish presence. Ankara views such incursions outside the de-escalation zone as an invasion and a violation of the Astana agreement.

The latest cross-border operation by the Turkish military has become the second campaign officially undertaken by Ankara in Syria. During Operation Euphrates Shield, launched in August last year and which ended in March, Ankara together with Turkey-aligned Syrian opposition groups liberated several IS-held areas such as Jarablus, Dabiq, al-Rai, and al-Bab.

san fernando Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley prayed with members of the Muslim community and distributed zakat (charity) to the needy as he celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr at two masjids in San Fernando yesterday. He attended the Eid services on an invitation from Minister of Local Government Kazim Hosein, who is also referred to as a…

gasparillo The mother of a disabled child was shot dead inside her apartment in Gasparillo yesterday. Ornella Philips, 28, was shot once in the chest. Her body was discovered lying in the living room around 10 a.m. The country’s murder toll now stands at 243. Her eight-year-old daughter, Kayla, has cerebral palsy and depends…

ISTANBUL (AP): Turkish police stopped activists for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex rights from gathering in large numbers for an LGBT Pride event in Istanbul yesterday, but smaller groups made impromptu press statements, defying a ban imposed by the governor. Organisers of the 2017 Istanbul LGBTI+ Pride had vowed to march in central Taksim…

LONDON (AP): The list of high-rise apartment towers in Britain that have failed fire-safety tests grew to 60, officials said yesterday, revealing the mounting challenge the government faces in the aftermath of London’s Grenfell Tower fire tragedy. All of the buildings for which external cladding samples were so far submitted failed combustibility tests, Communities Secretary…

BAHAWALPUR (AP): Alerted by an announcement over a mosque’s loudspeaker that an overturned tanker truck had sprung a leak, scores of villagers raced to the scene with fuel containers yesterday to gather the oil. Then the wreck exploded, engulfing people in flames as they screamed in terror. At least 153 men, women and children were…

WASHINGTON (AP): Making a final push, United States President Donald Trump said he doesn’t think congressional Republicans are “that far off” on a health overhaul to replace “the dead carcass of Obamacare”. Expressing frustration, he complained about “the level of hostility” in government and wondered why both parties can’t work together on the Senate bill…

While reliving the horrors experienced by so many families after another spate of bizarre violence across the country last week, I couldn’t help but picture Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett’s rictus grin plastered on television screens while the elderly and even suckling babes were being gruesomely slaughtered inside their homes. While the rest of us were…

RJR News / The Ministry of Finance met with the Police Federation on Monday morning. The Federation served an ultimatum on the Ministry last week regarding retroactive payments to be made at the end of the month. It has also rejected the 16 per cent wage offer over four years. Addressing…

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Jamaica Gleaner / Two public bodies are spending US$5.7 million (J$730 million) over the next 12 months to build out 1.6 hectares (four acres) of land into a major artisan village and tourist attraction at the Hampden Wharf in Falmouth, Trelawny. Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett and officials from the Port Authority of Jamaica and…

Jamaica Gleaner / National Water Commission (NWC) customers in several Spanish Town, St Catherine communities are being urged to prepare for service disruptions until Friday as it shuts down the Yangswell Booster Station for maintenance . The NWC says the work will begin on Tuesday and should be completed by Friday. Customers in the following…

Jamaica Gleaner / Tamara Bailey, Gleaner Writer Finance Minister Audley Shaw has called for public sector workers to also focus on productivity as they demand increased salaries. “It can’t be about salary every time we talk, it needs to be about productivity and improving the productivity of every public sector worker because productivity is what…

RJR News / Assistant Commissioner of Police Ealan Powell, who has been tasked with overseeing the implementation of the State of Emergency in the St. Catherine North Division, has said his team will ensure that there are no human rights violations. “We are ensuring that when persons are brought in, they are processed…

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RJR News / Wednesday, March 21 is being celebrated as World Poetry Day. One of the main objectives of the day is to support linguistic diversity through poetic expression and to offer endangered languages the opportunity to be heard within their communities. This year, Poet Laureate of Jamaica Lorna Goodison, who was recently…

RJR News / Arrangements are being made for the processing of persons who have been detained since Sunday’s declaration of the State of Public Emergency in crime plagued communities in sections of the St. Catherine North police division. It’s unclear how many persons have been picked up so far. A statement from the police…

RJR News / R&B singer Trey Songz surrendered to LAPD to face a felony domestic violence charge early Monday morning. The singer turned himself in, with his attorney Shawn Holley, for the alleged incident involving a woman he was out with in L.A. last month during NBA All-Star weekend. He was booked and…

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RJR News / Members of the General Council of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) have voted to reject the latest wage offer made by the government. The government’s latest offer had been made on Friday following three days of industrial action by the teachers last week. JTA members opted to reject the…

Jamaica Gleaner / State Minister for Finance Ruddy Spencer is promising increased assistance for Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporters through the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) now that a member of the party is the board chairman. Former Clarendon North Western MP Michael Stern was appointed board chairman in August last year. IN PHOTO: Michael…

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Jamaica Gleaner / HARARE, Zimbabwe (CMC): Marlon Samuels countered Brendan Taylor’s spectacular 10th One-Day International (ODI) hundred with an audacious half-century as the Windies completed their fifth highest run chase in ODIs, to beat Zimbabwe by four wickets and haul themselves back into contention for a spot in next year’s ICC World Cup in England. Facing…

Jamaica Gleaner / The police’s Corporate Communications Unit (CCU) has confirmed that two persons were fatally shot in separate incidents within the zone of special operations (ZOSO) in Denham Town yesterday. The identities of the dead men have not been revealed. However, CCU head, Inspector Dahlia Garrick, said the early-morning shootings, which took place on…

Jamaica Gleaner / The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) says passengers who travel to and from Spanish Town should expect delays as a result of the State of Public Emergency in the St Catherine North Police Division. At the same time, the company says it will be increasing the number of buses operating on Spanish…

Jamaica Gleaner / The police are reporting that four members of the Montego Bay based G-City Gang are among the 123 people so far detained in the State of Public Emergency in the St Catherine North division. The State of Public Emergency was declared yesterday by Prime Minister Andrew Holness. According to the police, 96…

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RJR News / Oil prices slipped on Monday as Wall Street slid more than one per cent and energy market investors remained wary of growing crude supply, although tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran gave prices some support. Brent crude futures were down 24 cents at $65.97 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate…

RJR News / The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), has issued a positive outlook for the island’s deposit taking institutions. In its just released 2017 annual report the Central Bank said with the stable economy, the low interest rate regime and sustained demand for credit, deposit taking institutions are expected to continue to perform positively…

Jamaica Gleaner / Former army chief Major General Antony Anderson was this morning sworn in as the 30th Commissioner of Police. He succeeds George Quallo who retired earlier this year. Anderson was sworn by Bishop Dr Gary Welsh, Justice of the Peace and Assistant Commissioner of Police,in during a brief ceremony at his Old Hope Road offices….

RJR News / Members of the group Fifth Harmony have announced they’re going to be taking a break to focus on their solo careers. In a message to fans on Twitter, the band members said they were going their separate ways in order to stay authentic to themselves and to their fans. They…

RJR News / Uber has said it is suspending self-driving car tests in all US cities after a fatal accident. A woman who crossing a street in Arizona was hit and later died. Uber said it was cooperating with local authorities in Arizona following the crash. …

RJR News / The main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) in Antigua and Barbuda has expressed concern about the state of the register for elections ahead of Wednesday’s polls. In a statement, the party said the register for the election that was published on March 12 might have been released in error and may not…